Replies

1. 
   starzoe | Dec 24, 2007 07:41pm | #1

   I have never heard of a curved zipper. Ordinary zippers easily fit into a curved seam. Perhaps the zipper's tapes are curved with an iron as you would curve a grosgrain ribbon, but grosgrain now is all poly so I am back where I began!

1. 
   rekha | Dec 25, 2007 12:18am | #2

   I have never heard of a curved zipper

   but it does exist.

   
1. 
   starzoe | Dec 25, 2007 12:59am | #3

   I looked up curved zipper on google and I wonder if this refers to the insertion instead of an actual zipper with a curve. I couldn't find a site that sold "curved" zippers as such and the items I did see were body bags, luggage, outdoor wear and tents. Zippers are pretty flexible and I have installed zippers into everything from tents to backpacks and upholstery, items that required a curve, some of them severe, without a problem.If only we could read Japanese!

1. 
   Teaf5 | Jan 07, 2008 03:40am | #4

   As soon as I get back to school tomorrow, I can probably find a Japanese speaker who also sews and designs clothes and I can ask him/her. 

   My first inclination is that the translation is supposed to say "covered zipper," but it does look curved in the diagrams (unless that's just poor alignment!)  

   There is no reason for a zipper to curve sideways through the crotch area (even of what looks like a very low-rise trouser) for comfort.  A straight zipper would easily follow the crotch seam as it curves back toward the center seam.

2. 
   BernaWeaves | Jan 07, 2008 06:55am | #5

   Looking at the jpg of the Japanese translation into English, I would say you just have a weird translation.  Go by the illustration.

   I have a Japanese Knitting book that has excellent how to illustrations, but the English translation is terrible.  It says things like "to trace sideways" when it really means to knit back the way you came.

   There's nothing particularly curved about the zipper in the picture.  I suspect whoever translated this isn't a sewer and made their best guess, not knowing the sewing jargon.  I also vote for "covered zipper" as the most probable translation.

   Berna

   Edited 1/6/2008 10:56 pm ET by BernaWeaves

1. 
   rekha | Jan 07, 2008 10:46am | #6

   I had posted this picture on the Stylebook forum and one of the ladies living in Japan replied it (curved zipper) is standard fare for putting on trousers

2. 
   maggiecoops | Jan 07, 2008 11:00am | #7

   When I was at school and my sewing teacher desperately tried to teach me how to sew, curved zips were a tailoring standard for all front fly trousers. The zip itself was straight, you had to create a curve with an iron, pressing cloth and a small reinforced nick in the side tape. It gave a far smoother line,  if I replace a zip in a mans trousers I always reshape a new zipper tape to match the old one that was removed.

1. 
   starzoe | Jan 07, 2008 09:08pm | #8

   Your explanation makes a lot of sense, this is what I do when I am inserting a long zip into and around the corner of a cushion. Usually this is when slipcovering sofas, etc.

3. 
   sewornate | Jan 07, 2008 09:12pm | #9

   There is a template you use to sew a very neat curved around a fly zipper sold by Nancy's Notions.  I have had mine many years, so don't know if they are still available or not.

1. 
   rekha | Jan 07, 2008 09:36pm | #10

   That sounds quite interesting, ornate